Layla Moran

The Government is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This includes taking action to increase the use of renewable energy across the Government estate. Where this relates to solar panels and wind turbines on buildings occupied by the Cabinet Office, active consideration will be given to installation.

During the course of the year, 10 Downing Street hosts a number of events to celebrate the work of charities and mark initiatives such as Black History Month, NHS workers, Police Bravery, Pride, International Women’s Day and Girls’ Education. As part of this a freelance photographer is occasionally engaged for the primary purpose of taking photographs of the guests attending; these photographs are then shared with them after the event. This is since there are security restrictions on personal photography by guests. The cost of this over the last 12 months has been £5,100.

Given the Hon. Member's interest in freelance photography, I also refer her to the answer to 28 November 2011, Official Report, Column 733W, by her Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Kingston and Surbiton.

The full details of the information requested are not held centrally. Cabinet Office policy states that staff, and Ministers, should travel by the most efficient means of transport, and that public transport should be used where possible and appropriate.

Details of ministerial overseas travel are published regularly.

The full details of the information requested are not held centrally. Cabinet Office policy states that staff, and Ministers, should travel by the most efficient means of transport, and that public transport should be used where possible and appropriate.

Details of ministerial overseas travel are published regularly.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQs 62462, 62463 and 62562 on 25 June 2020.

Spend on external consultants is published in our Annual Report and Accounts. These are available on gov.uk.

Details of spend over £25,000 are also published on gov.uk.

The social media team does not engage with MPs on these matters.

The Business Support Helpline operates in England and provides a range of support and advice to pre-start, and established businesses. This support includes advice following the UK’s exit from the EU. Businesses in the Devolved Administrations can access similar services within their country.

In the last 12 months (Feb 2020 to Jan 2021) the Business Support Helpline has received over 76,000 calls from individuals and businesses.

During the same period, for the Thames Valley area, the service has handled over 800 contacts from individuals and businesses.

Statistics are gathered by each Local Authority, rather than by constituency. However, in the same period the service handled 99 customers from the Oxford City Council area; 93 customers in the Vale of White Horse area; and 87 customers in West Oxfordshire.

The individual data can be seen in the attached tables.

The difficult finance situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%.

ODA allocations for all departments were determined in light of this by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in consultation with HM Treasury, and with regard to wider commitments including the R&D ringfence. The Government’s commitment to research and innovation is clearly demonstrated through the recently published R&D Roadmap, and the £400m uplift in R&D spending announced in the Spending Review.

The Department remains committed to supporting my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s pledge to double the UK’s International Climate Finance to £11.6bn between 2021/22 and 2025/26, and we will deliver ambitious programmes to support both this commitment and the Prime Minister’s recent pledge to spend £3bn of our climate finance on nature. This significant uplift of our climate finance sets a clear benchmark for the international community towards COP26 and beyond.

The Government remains committed to international development and will continue to provide £10 billion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2021-22.

The UK’s scientific excellence makes it a partner of choice for many international collaborations. The Government continues to support this excellence through its work towards a 2.4% of GDP investment in R&D by 2027. This has most recently been demonstrated in the £400m uplift to R&D funding announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Spending Review for financial year 2021/2022. International collaboration is?a?central feature of a healthy and productive?R&D sector.

The Government remains committed to international development and will continue to provide £10 billion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2021-22.

The UK’s scientific excellence makes it a partner of choice for many international collaborations. The Government continues to support this excellence through its work towards a 2.4% of GDP investment in R&D by 2027. This has most recently been demonstrated in the £400m uplift to R&D funding announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Spending Review for financial year 2021/2022. International collaboration is?a?central feature of a healthy and productive?R&D sector.

The Government remains committed to international development and will continue to provide £10 billion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2021-22to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health.

The Government’s commitment to research and innovation is clearly demonstrated through the recently published R&D Roadmap, and the £400m uplift in R&D spending announced in the Spending Review. International collaboration is a central feature of a healthy and productive R&D sector.

We are committed to doubling UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF) to £11.6bn in the years 2021-2025. Our ICF helps to reduce deforestation and carbon emissions, for instance through our £200m+ investment to support green recovery across Africa, Asia and Latin America since June 2020.

The Government remains committed to international development and will continue to provide £10 billion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2021-22 to fight poverty, tackle climate change and improve global health.

The Government’s commitment to research and innovation is clearly demonstrated through the recently published R&D Roadmap, and the £400m uplift in R&D spending announced in the Spending Review International collaboration is central feature of a healthy and productive R&D sector.

We recently reaffirmed our commitment to doubling UK’s International Climate Finance to £11.6bn in the years 2021-2025. The UK plays a crucial role in addressing the global challenge of climate change, responding to the needs of developing countries.

The UK’s exit from the EU does not alter the fact that our energy system is resilient and secure, and UK energy is supplied from diverse sources.

We have planned extensively for the end of the transition period, alongside National Grid and industry, to ensure electricity and gas demands are met. Electricity and gas will continue to flow over interconnectors between the UK and the EU at the end of the transition period in any scenario.

The forecast electricity margin for this winter is healthy, at 4.8GW or 8.3% additional generation. The forecast gas margin for this winter is also healthy, at around 79 million cubic metres or 15% more supply than would be required to meet demand on the coldest day in 20 winters.

BEIS publishes estimates of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK each year, with historical data on a consistent basis. The latest estimates going back to 1990 and including a provisional 2019 estimate can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/provisional-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-2019. They show that an estimated 435 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂e) were emitted in 2019 in the UK, down from 794 MtCO₂e in 1990.

In addition, estimates of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK since 1970 are available in table 4 in the data tables accompanying the final 2018 greenhouse gas estimates: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-1990-to-2018. The estimates for 1970 to 1989 do not include all of the sources of carbon dioxide emission included for 1990 onwards and estimates for other greenhouse gases are not available before 1990.

The Department spends overseas development assistance (ODA) on infrastructure programmes through its International Climate Finance (ICF).

The aim of the ICF is to support developing countries to respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions through initiatives such as the UK Sustainable Infrastructure Programme. All ICF programmes are assessed against an analytical framework which includes taking account of the impact on emissions in developing countries. The latest ICF results publication estimates that across HMG, ICF programmes have reduced or avoided 31 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions between 2011/12 and 2019/20, and will deliver much greater savings over their lifetimes (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-climate-finance-results).

Employees with the necessary qualifying service who consider that they have been dismissed unfairly may complain to an employment tribunal. The case of an employee who has been dismissed as a result of health issues clearly demands special consideration. For example, a tribunal will expect the employer to have considered whether there was suitable alternative work available. Employees may also be able to seek redress through the civil courts or employment tribunals if their dismissal breaches the terms of their contracts, for instance, because the employer has failed to comply with provisions relating to sickness absence.

The annual maintenance cost for the solar PV array for 2020 at the Department’s headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street, London is £955.00. Costs dating back earlier than this are unavailable as maintenance of the solar PV array formed part of a wider maintenance package.

The Department has spent the following amounts on electricity at 1 Victoria Street in the past two years and in 2020/21 to date. Data earlier than this is currently inaccessible.

*Data for 2020/21 is for April – June inclusive

At present, the Department has no plans to install additional solar panels or wind turbines at its headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street in the next five years. As part of the Department’s drive to reduce its impact on the environment and achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest, we are working with our contractors to identify the best route to sustainable energy supply.

As of 7 June, 782,246 loans have been approved under the BBLS, with a total value of £23.78 billion.

Capturing information relating to business ownership by ethnicity is at the discretion of the lender and will also be up to the business owner.

All air flights for the Department must be booked through the Crown Commercial travel management system and do not provide personal rewards. The Departmental expenses policy, which applies to special advisers as well as civil servants, sets out that air miles and similar benefits earned through official travel should not be used for private purposes.

Similar arrangements for Ministers are set out in the Ministerial Code; if it is impractical to use benefits for Government travel, Ministers may donate air miles to charity if permissible under the terms of the airline’s scheme and the charity is chosen by the airline.

Information on accumulated air miles is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This significant injection of laptops and tablets is on top of an estimated 2.9 million already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The laptops and tablets are to help support schools, academy trusts and local authorities to provide access to remote education and online social care. Schools, colleges, academy trusts and local authorities are responsible for distributing the laptops and tablets and are best placed to know which children and young people need access to a device.

As of Monday 15 February 2021, over one million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities and further education providers. We are making further deliveries all the time and expect to achieve our overall commitment of delivering 1.3 million devices by the end of the spring term.

We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 60,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

Figures on the number of devices already delivered are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data. These figures are broken down by local authority and academy trust. Figures by constituency are not available.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This significant injection of laptops and tablets is on top of an estimated 2.9 million already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The laptops and tablets are to help support schools, academy trusts and local authorities to provide access to remote education and online social care. Schools, colleges, academy trusts and local authorities are responsible for distributing the laptops and tablets and are best placed to know which children and young people need access to a device.

As of Monday 15 February 2021, over one million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities and further education providers. We are making further deliveries all the time and expect to achieve our overall commitment of delivering 1.3 million devices by the end of the spring term.

We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 60,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

Figures on the number of devices already delivered are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data. These figures are broken down by local authority and academy trust. Figures by constituency are not available.

Test kits delivered at the start of January 2021 continue to be used for regular testing of staff as well as for one off testing of pupils who are attending school (vulnerable children and the children of critical workers) as they returned to their institution. Additional test kits are supplied when individual settings run out.

Test kits delivered at the start of January continue to be used for regular testing of staff as well as for one off testing of pupils who are attending school (vulnerable children and the children of critical workers). Additional test kits are supplied when individual schools run out.

During the period of national lockdown, schools should continue to provide meal options for all pupils who are in school. Meals should be available free of charge to all infant pupils and pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals who are in school.

Schools should also continue to provide free school meal support to pupils who are eligible for benefits related free school meals and who are learning from home. Extra funding will be provided to support schools to provide food parcels or meals to eligible children. Where schools cannot offer food parcels or local alternatives, the national voucher scheme is in place so that every eligible child can access free school meals during the national lockdown.

We are committed to supporting apprentices and employers to safely continue with, and complete, their programmes during the COVID-19 outbreak while maintaining quality.

We have worked closely with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and Ofqual to introduce flexibilities to 120 apprenticeships to mitigate the effects of disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak to end-point assessment. It is this assessment which certifies an apprentice has achieved occupational competence and completed the apprenticeship. Flexibilities include remote assessment where practicable, 12-week extensions to the time limit for completion, and relaxation of the order in which elements can be taken, and these have now been extended until March 2021. We continue to review the flexibilities in place to ensure high-quality assessment can continue and to support apprentices to take the next-steps in their careers. Apprentices are employed throughout the duration of their apprenticeship, but we have also made it possible for apprentices made redundant during COVID-19 to continue to take their end-point assessments and have introduced support to help them find a new employer.

Provisional figures show that 46,930 apprentices achieved their apprenticeships (frameworks and standards) between March 23 and the end of July this year.

Pilots have begun in a small number of schools and colleges using new Lateral Flow Devices that deliver a fast, on-site result. This will help us better understand how this new technology can be operationalised to protect those at high risk, find COVID-19 cases, and help enable us to go back to as normal a way of life as possible.

Schools currently involved in the pilots are located in: Poole, Lewisham, Salisbury, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kent, Blackburn with Darwen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester, Birmingham, and West Sussex. There are currently no pilots taking place in educational settings in Oxfordshire.

The Government is piloting the use of lateral flow tests in education settings. This will help us better understand how this new technology can be operationalised to protect those at high risk, find the virus and help enable us to go back to as normal a way of life as possible. Establishing this mass testing capability, with fast turn-around times, should allow students to continue their studies safely and minimise the risk of virus transmission in our communities.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions, and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within the National Curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.

We also introduced a rigorous Mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for Mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from Key Stages One to Four.

In the primary Mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy and numbers will underpin the pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.

We trust teachers to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their particular school, drawing on the expertise of subject associations and organisations such as Young Money.

Schools should have resumed teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term. This means that all pupils will be taught a wide range of subjects, so they can maintain their choices for further study and employment. Our latest guidance on teaching to support children is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020/21 academic year, will support education settings to put the right catch-up support in place. Information about our COVID-19 catch-up package is found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.

The Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding. Information about our COVID-19 support guide is found here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/national-tutoring-programme/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/#closeSignup.

For the longer term, the Department will continue to work closely with The Money and Pension Service and HM Treasury, to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions, and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within the National Curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.

We also introduced a rigorous Mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for Mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from Key Stages One to Four.

In the primary Mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy and numbers will underpin the pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.

We trust teachers to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their particular school, drawing on the expertise of subject associations and organisations such as Young Money.

Schools should have resumed teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term. This means that all pupils will be taught a wide range of subjects, so they can maintain their choices for further study and employment. Our latest guidance on teaching to support children is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020/21 academic year, will support education settings to put the right catch-up support in place. Information about our COVID-19 catch-up package is found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.

The Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding. Information about our COVID-19 support guide is found here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/national-tutoring-programme/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/#closeSignup.

For the longer term, the Department will continue to work closely with The Money and Pension Service and HM Treasury, to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.

All children who live in the UK are eligible for a school place in England irrespective of their nationality.

The UK has offered a new route to full citizenship to British Nationals (Overseas) (BNO(S)) and their dependants. This means that those BN(O) families taking advantage of this offer and moving to the UK will be able to access a state-funded or independent school place for their children on the same basis as every other family in the UK. Those BN(O) families who choose not to avail themselves of our migration offer, and who remain in Hong Kong, will, as now, be able to send their children to the UK to access an independent school place under the UK study visa rules.

Advice to state-funded school admission authorities is contained within the School Admissions Code, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2. We also provide specific advice to admission authorities on the rights of overseas pupils to access a school place on the following website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children.

We sent a bulletin to schools in England on 14 October containing information about changes to the immigration system which said: ‘Schools should continue to offer places to foreign national children who are resident in the United Kingdom.’

The Government Property Agency (GPA) does not currently have funded plans for the installation of solar panels and wind turbines on Department for Education buildings.

However, GPA has a Net Zero Programme in development to support the following UK Government targets:

• To reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100% relative to 1990 levels by 2050, making UK a ‘Net Zero’ emitter.
• To have at least a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across the public sector estate by 2032 (against a 2017 baseline).

GPA has committed to the following objectives for the Government Office Portfolio:

1. Improve energy efficiency (reduce consumption/ improve thermal efficiency)
2. Use green energy (decarbonise)
3. Generate and store green energy (locally)
4. Reduce embodied carbon (in construction)

In order to meet objective 3, GPA is currently assessing opportunities for the local generation and storage of green energy on Government Office Portfolio buildings, which may include solar panels and wind turbines.

It is vitally important that we do all we can to help parents to support their children’s learning at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.

We know that the Home Learning Environment is crucial for child development. There are a wealth of resources available for parents which can be accessed through the government’s Hungry Little Minds website which can be found at:
https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/.

We are working with our partners to ensure that we give parents the best support we can to help their children’s learning at home. We have also published guidance for parents about how to support their child’s development at home during the COVID-19 outbreak which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-children-aged-2-to-4-to-learn-at-home-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Guidance for parents and carers on the opening of early years settings is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced a £1 billion support package for schools to help pupils catch up on lost teaching time.

We also announced on 20 July that we will be providing a one-off, ring-fenced grant of up to £96 million for colleges, sixth forms and all 16 to 19 providers, to provide small group tutoring activity for disadvantaged 16 to 19 students whose studies have been disrupted.

Many further education providers are already open for some learners, including those who are 16 to 19 and adults, subject to the required safety measures being met. From autumn 2020, all learners, including those who are 16 to 19 and adults will return to a full high-quality education programme delivered by their college or post-16 learning provider.

Colleges should plan on the basis that, from September 2020, all learners will return to a full high-quality education programme.

The Government has provided laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, receiving support from a social worker, or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in year 10 do not have internet connections, the Government has also provided 4G wireless routers.

The Department has delivered laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers to local authorities and academy trusts based on the Department’s estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device. Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify children and young people who need devices and prioritise their needs.

The Department has published information about how many laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers have been delivered to local authorities and academy trusts in total, which can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data. As of the end of June, over 202,000 laptops and tablets and over 47,000 4G wireless routers had been delivered to local authorities and academy trusts. It is taking, on average, 1.3 days from receipt of an order to the devices being dispatched to a local authority or academy trust.

The Department will be publishing data on devices delivered to each local authority and academy trust shortly.

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

The Government has provided clear guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in relation to agencies and agency workers. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-employees-you-can-put-on-furlough-to-use-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme#agency-workers-including-those-employed-by-umbrella-companies.

Schools are under no obligation to continue to pay supply teachers that they directly hire or hire via agencies once the supply teacher’s contract has ended. Typically, supply teachers are not contracted to work over the summer holidays when schools are closed.

Supply teachers employed via an agency who had previously been furloughed via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for at least 3 consecutive weeks, taking place any time between 1 March 2020 and 30 June, can continue to be furloughed until the scheme ends on 31 October, so long as their employer chooses to continue to furlough them.

The department has published guidance for providers who run community activities, holiday clubs, after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school provision for children over the age of 5. It sets out the safety measures that must be in place to ensure they can operate over the summer holiday. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

This follows confirmation from my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, that from Saturday 4 July, these providers can operate over the summer holiday, with safety measures in place.

While schools are open in a provider’s local area, providers of these settings should follow the same protective measures as schools to limit different groups of children mixing. This means that if a setting opens before the end of the 2020 summer term, they should ensure they are:

• only caring for children from the eligible groups (children in early years, Reception, year 1 and year 6) and priority groups (children of critical workers and vulnerable children);
• only caring for children from one school or early years provider; and
• working closely with the school or early years providers that their children attend, to ensure that, as far as possible, children are kept in the same small consistent groups that they are in throughout the day, and otherwise maintain social distance.

When state schools in a local area have closed for the summer term, out-of-school settings must operate in line with the published guidance and children of all ages and mixed schools may attend out-of-school settings in that area.

The table below provides the information requested relating to the use of private hire cars by the Department since 2015.

The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in England to access remote education and social care services, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers.

We are providing laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, those receiving support from a social worker and care leavers. This includes looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum seeking children. It also includes former unaccompanied asylum seeking children who are now care leavers. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in year 10 do not have internet connections, we are providing 4G wireless routers.

The Department has ordered over 200,000 laptops and tablets and allocated devices to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device. Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices. This may include children in families who are refugees or who are seeking asylum. The Department is working to provide these devices in the shortest possible timeframe; deliveries to schools and local authorities began in May and have continued throughout June.

We want to get more children back to school because it is vital for their education and their wellbeing. As such the Government has announced that all children will return to school from September.

On 2 July we published guidance to help schools plan for a full return of all pupils in the Autumn term:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools

The measures set out in this guidance provide a framework for head teachers to put in place proportionate protective measures for children and staff, which also ensure that all pupils receive a high quality education that enables them to thrive and progress. In welcoming all children back this Autumn, schools will be asked to minimise the number of contacts that a pupil has during the school day as part of implementing the system of controls outlined in the guidance to reduce the risk of transmission. If schools follow the guidance set out, they can be confident they are managing risk effectively.

The guidance also includes the process that should be followed if anyone develops COVID-19 symptoms while at school. This guidance has been developed with advice from, and is endorsed by, Public Health England.

SAGE publish papers from their meetings on a regular basis on the SAGE website. The list of papers released to date is available by following the link below, including several schools-related papers. This list will be updated to reflect papers considered at future meetings:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response.

The information requested is not held centrally.

In England, some local authorities provide discretionary grants to help with buying school uniforms. The local authorities which offer these grants set their own criteria for eligibility. The Department does not collect figures on the number of local authorities that offer uniform grants. In addition, schools may also offer individual clothing schemes, such as offering secondhand uniform at reduced prices; this would be a decision for the school to make.

No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice, due to the cost of the uniform. As such the Department supports the Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Private Members’ Bill, to make our guidance regarding the cost considerations for school uniform statutory.

The Department’s current non-statutory guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.

The new NHS Test and Trace service was launched on 28 May across England. Anyone who tests positive for coronavirus will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace and will need to share information about their recent interactions. The government has recruited 25,000 contact tracers, able to track 10,000 new cases a day.

If a child or young person in school develops symptoms compatible with COVID-19, they should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 7 days and arrange to have a test. Where the child or young person tests positive, traced close contacts, including the rest of their class, should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days

As part of the national test and trace programme, local Public Health England health protection teams will contact all schools attended by someone who tests positive for COVID-19. The health protection team will work with the school to carry out a rapid risk assessment and advise of any further action that needs to be taken.

In some cases, a larger number of children may be asked to self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure. Where schools are observing guidance on infection prevention and control to reduce the risk of transmission, closure of the whole school will not generally be necessary and should not be considered outside of discussion with health protection teams.

The Department delegates to schools the management of their own budgets and the vast majority are operating with a cumulative surplus, with only a small percentage having a deficit. The latest published figures show 94% of academy trusts and 90% of local authority-maintained schools are in cumulative surplus or breaking even.

Data on maintained school deficits in financial year 2019/20 is not yet available. We will publish this data in December. The table below shows the number of maintained schools in cumulative deficit in each of the four preceding financial years. This data is published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/la-and-school-expenditure-2018-to-2019-financial-year.

Trusts are the legal entities responsible for academies, including their finances, and, therefore, they account at trust level. The table below shows the number of academy trusts in cumulative deficit in each of the five previous academic years. We have published this data annually in the academies sector annual report and accounts (SARA) since 2015-16, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/academies-sector-annual-reports-and-accounts.

The provisional 2018/19 figure in the table is based on financial benchmarking data, available at https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/Help/DataSources. This will be updated when the 2018/19 SARA is published in July.

The Department has listened to the feedback from stakeholders about the difficult circumstances faced by schools in the context of COVID-19 and the particular impact this has had on schools preparedness for the implementation of the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) in September 2020.

Taking into account that feedback, the Department has confirmed that the statutory implementation of the RBA will be postponed until autumn 2021. Instead, schools have the option of taking part in the RBA early adopter year and can sign up to participate via a survey sent to all eligible schools. The Department remains committed to implementing the RBA.

We have not made an assessment of the KiVa anti-bullying programme. All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. They also have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies and monitoring approaches to best suit their environment.

Our Preventing and Tackling Bullying guidance sets out that schools should develop a consistent approach to monitoring bullying incidents and evaluating the effectiveness of their approaches. It also directs schools to organisations who can provide support with tackling bullying related to race, religion and nationality. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.

On 7 June, we announced more than £750,000 for the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust – to help hundreds of schools and colleges build relationships between pupils, boost their resilience, and continue to tackle bullying both in person and online. More information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers.

The department has also made resources available through the Educate Against Hate website. This website provides teachers, school leaders and parents with the information, guidance and support they need to challenge radical views, including racist and discriminatory beliefs, and is available here:
https://educateagainsthate.com/.

The National Tutoring Programme, worth £350 million, was recently announced as part of a £1 billion COVID-19 “catch-up” package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time and will increase access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people.

We will be working closely with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to identify high quality tutoring organisations and support them to ramp up their recruitment of tutors.

The EEF will select high-quality tutoring organisations that meet agreed criteria. These organisations will have differing models - some may use volunteers to deliver tutoring sessions to pupils, while others will pay tutors. Dedicated coaches that are based in schools will all receive a salary.

The Department will continue to work with a wide range of sector representatives to develop a plan for all children to return to schools in September. This engagement includes meetings with teachers and headteachers through the Department for Education’s reference groups; meetings with expert advisors from the sector; meetings with scientific experts; meetings with teaching and support staff unions; and engaging with politicians from across the political spectrum.

Children and young people have experienced unprecedented disruption to their education during lockdown. The Government has therefore announced a package of support for schools to help children and young people make up for lost teaching time, with extra support in the form of a tutoring programme for those who need it most.

The universal catch up premium will provide £650 million to help schools make up for lost teaching time. We are currently working with HM Treasury to finalise funding arrangements for the £1 billion catch-up package.

Schools are receiving a £650 million catch up premium to make up for the education that has been lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Education Endowment Foundation has published a COVID-19 recovery guide to support school leaders and staff. It provides guidance and information on the most effective strategies to catch up on lost education, and will allow schools to decide on how to best use this funding to support their pupils and their outcomes. The guidance can be found here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/.

We know that each school will have different needs as a result of this outbreak and we trust headteachers to make the appropriate decisions for their students to ensure that this money is spent wisely.

The Department for Education does not collect data on pastoral and disciplinary staff within the School Workforce Census. The School Workforce Census captures data for non-teaching staff, auxiliary staff, teaching assistants and support staff, as well as for classroom teachers and leadership roles.

BAME teachers represented 9% of the teaching population in state funded schools in November 2018. 9% of classroom teachers, 6% of deputy and assistant headteachers and 4% of headteachers came from BAME backgrounds

11% of non-teaching staff were from a BAME background in November 2018. This was 12% for auxiliary staff and 11% for both teaching assistants and other support staff.

This data is available in Tables 5 and 6 of the publication, School Workforce in England, 2018, available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2018

Information for 2019 data was published on the 25 June 2020.

The guidance on how to phase the return of learners in further education is underpinned by our latest understanding of COVID-19. To limit the risk of increasing the rate of transmission, scientific advice indicates that we need to take a phased approach that limits both the number of young people in attendance and how much they mix with other learners and staff.

We are reviewing options for the Autumn term; we would like all learners to return to on site delivery as soon as possible and we are working with the sector to support them to do that, as soon as the scientific advice allows it, and with appropriate measures in place to manage the transmission risk.

Further education colleges have done fantastic work to deliver excellent online provision; many colleges had a significant online element to their offer prior to COVID-19, and we expect this to continue as there is a phased return to more on site delivery.

The Department is keen to protect school playing fields and schools are only able to sell playing fields when they demonstrate that the disposal does not impact their curriculum and that they have explored all possible alternatives.

The Department periodically updates a playing field decision list on GOV.UK and the next update will be in July. The Department is currently collating data for this update. The list is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals.

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Our latest guidance on remote education during COVID-19 is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19

The Department is continuing to assess the impact of the potential effect of school closure on children and young people’s education attainment, including on remote education. We are working closely with schools, sector organisations, international institutions and across Government to understand the risks to education attainment and wellbeing, and identify the children and young people that need help.

We are committed to ensuring that all children can continue to learn remotely in a number of ways during these very difficult circumstances, and are supporting sector-led initiatives such as the Oak National Academy. This new enterprise has been created by 40 teachers from schools across England. It will provide 180 video lessons for free each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from Reception through to Year 10. By 24 May, over 2.3 million users had visited the Oak Academy site and over 8.6 million lessons had been accessed.

However, it is up to each school to determine how to deliver education to its pupils and we recognise that many schools have already shared resources – both online and printed resources – for children who are at home.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 23 June 2020 to Question 54195.

The Department’s consultancy expenditure is presented in the table below by each financial year as requested from 2017 to 2020.

Expenditure for financial year 2020/21 has not been included as the financial year commenced as of 1 April 2020 and this information has not been released in the public domain. For financial year 19/20 the Department has not published the annual accounts and is waiting sign off and audit approval to release the data. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic an extension for the submission of annual accounts has been applied across Government Departments.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The national voucher scheme for free school meals currently includes a variety of supermarkets. Initially, the scheme included supermarkets that already have e-gift card arrangements in place with our supplier, Edenred, including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, M&S and Waitrose. On Monday 27 April we added Aldi to this list and on Wednesday 29 April we added McColl’s. We have been working with other supermarkets to encourage them to join. Any additional supermarkets would need to have the right infrastructure to deliver e-gift cards across their network of stores.

Schools are best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate free school meal arrangements for eligible pupils during this period. In the first instance, we are asking schools to speak to their catering teams and food suppliers about preparing meals or food parcels that could be collected by or delivered to families that are not in attendance. Where this is not possible, schools can use the national voucher scheme or make alternative voucher arrangements locally. Our guidance for schools sets out that they can be reimbursed for costs incurred where the national voucher scheme is not suitable for their families and this can include alternative voucher arrangements with supermarkets that are not part of the national voucher scheme.

I have set up an alternative provision stakeholder group, formed of senior leaders from across the sector, to help us understand and respond to the specific challenges facing alternative provision schools at this time. I meet this group every month.

The support available to the sector is set out in the department’s guidance on vulnerable children and young people:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.

Alternative provision schools can claim up to £50,000 to cover additional costs, and local authorities and schools should continue to fund commissioned places in alternative provision until the end of the summer term. This is set out in the department’s financial support guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools/school-funding-exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19-for-the-period-march-to-july-2020.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The government recognises that the COVID-19 outbreak is bringing significant financial challenges to the higher education (HE) sector and we have been working closely with the sector to monitor the likely impacts.

On 4 May 2020, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a package of measures to ensure sustainability in HE at a time of unprecedented uncertainty.

We will stabilise the admissions system and reprofile tuition fee payments, expected to be worth £2.6 billion, for providers so that they receive more cash in the first term of the 2020/21 academic year. This will have no impact on students but will allow providers to better manage financial risks over the autumn. This will be available to all providers across the UK.

In reprofiling these payments, we are clear in our expectation that providers should use the cashflow benefits appropriately, taking significant steps to improve efficiencies and manage their finances in order to avoid cashflow problems in the future. Reprofiling in this way is a one-off intervention for the autumn term only, to help providers take all necessary steps now to prepare for the future.

In England, we will also be bringing forward £100 million of quality-related research funding for providers to the current academic year to help to address some of the immediate pressures faced by university research activities.

The department will consider purchasing land and buildings where they can be used for new or expanding schools and colleges in England. This will take place as part of existing programmes and using established procedures. This financial year (across purchases from all suitable vendors, including but not limited to HE providers), we have budgeted up to £100 million to acquire sites for planned projects in England. Details are available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students.

These measures are in addition to the unprecedented package of support for businesses already announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and a range of business loan schemes, to help pay wages, keep staff employed and support businesses whose viability is threatened by the outbreak.

The government has also confirmed that providers are eligible to apply for its support packages, including business loan support schemes, which the Office for Students (OfS), the regulator in England, estimates could be worth at least £700 million to the sector.

We will only intervene further where we believe there is a case to do so and where we believe intervention is possible and appropriate and as a last resort.

In such instances, we will work with providers to review their circumstances and assess the need for restructuring and any attached conditions. The department will be working with HM Treasury and other government departments to develop this restructuring regime and with the devolved administrations.

The Government has asked schools and nurseries to prepare to open to more young people from 1 June, with protective measures in place, as part of a phased wider opening of schools.

The Children’s Task and Finish Working Group, established by SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies), provided consolidated scientific health advice to Government. Advice from this group was used, alongside other sources of information, to inform decision making on the wider opening schools.

Papers from SAGE meetings are being published in tranches. The first batch was released on 20 March 2020 and further papers were published on 5 May and 22 May 2020, including papers on the wider opening of schools. Further batches will be released regularly.

The list of papers to be released to date is available by following the link below, including a number of schools-related papers. This list will be updated to reflect papers considered at future meetings: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response.

In addition, the department has published an explanatory note to accompany SAGE’s findings from the Interdisciplinary Task and Finish Group. This looked specifically at the role of children in transmission and can be found by following the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/887247/Department_for_Education_explanatory_note_on_SAGE_modelling.pdf.

ONS published analysis of coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by ethnic group, England and Wales: 2 March 2020 to 10 April 2020. This provisional analysis has shown that the risk of death involving coronavirus (COVID-19) among some ethnic groups is significantly higher than that of those of white ethnicity. A review, carried out by PHE, will look to understand how different factors -including ethnicity, gender and obesity -can impact on people’s health outcomes from COVID-19. More information can be found by following the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-into-factors-impacting-health-outcomes-from-covid-19.

Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACTs) have been established to better co-ordinate how the Department and Ofsted capture information and intelligence about local needs and circumstances in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, whilst also offering support to local authorities where they need it.

There are nine REACTs across England, representing policy areas including vulnerable, children’s social care, special educational needs and disabilities, schools and further education. Membership includes representatives from Ofsted and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). Membership is drawn from existing Departmental and Ofsted staff, so does not require additional funding.

REACTs provide a mechanism for the Department to coordinate conversations with local authorities across education and children’s services, preventing duplication. Through those conversations, REACTs discuss matching practical support offers to those local authority areas that require it. Specifically, Ofsted have to date agreed deployment of 242 staff to 114 local authorities, with 98 having started the deployment (as of 11 May 2020). The purpose of these placements is to assist frontline organisations deal with urgent activities related to COVID-19, or by back-filling roles that enable others to deal with urgent activities related to COVID-19, for example in contacting and tracking vulnerable children.

The support available to supply teachers, and who provides this support, is dependent on whether supply teachers are employed directly by schools or employed by agencies. The Department has developed school workforce guidance on COVID-19, including financial support available to supply teachers:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures/guidance-for-schools-about-temporarily-closing#supply-teachers-and-other-contingent-workers.

The Department has also developed further guidance on financial support for all education institutions, which is set out below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.

The Department is communicating regularly, via a number of channels, with schools, supply agencies and teaching unions on the support available for supply staff during the COVID-19 outbreak.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The support available to supply teachers, and who provides this support, is dependent on whether supply teachers are employed directly by schools or employed by agencies. The Department has developed school workforce guidance on COVID-19, including financial support available to supply teachers:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures/guidance-for-schools-about-temporarily-closing#supply-teachers-and-other-contingent-workers.

The Department has also developed further guidance on financial support for all education institutions, which is set out below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.

The Department is communicating regularly, via a number of channels, with schools, supply agencies and teaching unions on the support available for supply staff during the COVID-19 outbreak.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The support available to supply teachers, and who provides this support, is dependent on whether supply teachers are employed directly by schools or employed by agencies. The Department has developed school workforce guidance on COVID-19, including financial support available to supply teachers:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures/guidance-for-schools-about-temporarily-closing#supply-teachers-and-other-contingent-workers.

The Department has also developed further guidance on financial support for all education institutions, which is set out below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.

The Department is communicating regularly, via a number of channels, with schools, supply agencies and teaching unions on the support available for supply staff during the COVID-19 outbreak.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The Department does not hold information on whether civil servants, special advisers or contract staff have teaching qualifications.

The Department understands the challenging circumstances schools are facing and is working closely with our delivery partners to keep progress towards the reception baseline assessment under regular review. We are gathering feedback from stakeholders on a range of options and will be providing further guidance to schools in the summer term.

24,000 of the children in attendance on Friday 17 April were classed by schools as vulnerable. Of these, around 6,000 had an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, and 14,000 were children in need (reported by schools as having a social worker). The remainder were unknown, where schools either did not provide this information or the children were classed vulnerable for other reasons. This data corresponds with the last day of the Easter break in most parts of the country.

The department is working with educational settings and local authorities to improve our understanding of the total number of vulnerable children for whom continued attendance at educational establishments would be beneficial and appropriate. This is in recognition of the fact that attendance may not be appropriate for some children, including because of health considerations and risks, and that many children with EHC plans may be able to have their needs met in the home environment. Full guidance on the definition of vulnerable children and options for continued attendance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.

From Friday 20 March, schools, colleges and early years settings?have been closed to everyone except children of key workers and vulnerable children, as part of the country’s ongoing response to COVID-19.

We have asked local authorities to suspend any penalty notice action or prosecutions for COVID-19 related absence with immediate effect. Local authorities should update their Code of Conduct for issuing penalty notices to make this clear. New cases should not be taken forward and any cases from 16 March should be withdrawn. This approach should also be applied to prosecutions for non-attendance.

Guidance has been issued on providing support for vulnerable children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities, during the current period of school closures. Schools, colleges, other training providers and local authorities will need to work with parents to make a risk assessment for each child and young person with an education, health and care plan and decide whether their needs should be met though the continuation of provision in their educational setting, or they are able to have their needs met at home.

The latest guidance for schools and other education settings can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

From Friday 20 March, schools, colleges and early years settings?have been closed to everyone except children of key workers and vulnerable children, as part of the country’s ongoing response to COVID-19.

We have asked local authorities to suspend any penalty notice action or prosecutions for COVID-19 related absence with immediate effect. Local authorities should update their Code of Conduct for issuing penalty notices to make this clear. New cases should not be taken forward and any cases from 16 March should be withdrawn. This approach should also be applied to prosecutions for non-attendance.

Guidance has been issued on providing support for vulnerable children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities, during the current period of school closures. Schools, colleges, other training providers and local authorities will need to work with parents to make a risk assessment for each child and young person with an education, health and care plan and decide whether their needs should be met though the continuation of provision in their educational setting, or they are able to have their needs met at home.

The latest guidance for schools and other education settings can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

As we set out in the UK’s approach to negotiations, we remain open to the UK participating in elements of the Erasmus+ programme, on a time-limited basis, provided the terms are in the UK’s interest.

The specific terms under which the UK could participate in the programme are subject to the future negotiations with the EU, which we hope to conclude as soon as possible.

As we have set out in the UK’s approach to negotiations, we remain open to the UK participating in elements of the Erasmus+ programme on a time-limited basis provided that the terms are in the UK’s interest.

In parallel with the ongoing negotiations, we continue to develop a domestic alternative scheme as part of preparing for every eventuality.

The National Statistics release ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England 2017 to 2018’ includes information on the number and rate of permanent and fixed period exclusions.

The release is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2017-to-2018.

In spring 2019, a consultation was held on proposals for a mandatory register of children not attending state or registered independent schools to help local authorities carry out their responsibilities in relation to children not in school.

Almost 5000 responses were received to the consultation which closed in June 2019. They have now been considered and a formal government response document setting out next steps will be issued in due course.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU, the UK will continue to participate fully in the current (2014-20) Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programmes. This means that the projects successfully bid for during the current programmes will continue to receive EU funding for the full duration of the project, including those where funding runs beyond 2020 and the end of the transition period. We expect Higher Education mobilities being bid for in 2020 will include some mobilities for academic year 2020-21 and academic year 2021-22, depending on the specific details of individual projects.

The shape and content of EU Programmes post-2020, including Erasmus+, are currently being negotiated within the EU institutions and have not yet been finalised. These EU programmes must be adopted by the EU before any potential formal negotiations on association could begin. The UK is ready to consider participation in certain EU programmes, once the EU has agreed the baseline in its 2021-27 Multiannual Financial Framework, and taking into account the overall value to the UK of doing so.

The Department for Education is the national authority for the Erasmus+ programme in the UK. The Department oversees the work of the UK National Agency, which is responsible for the management and delivery of the programme across the UK. The UK National Agency have been issuing guidance to UK universities with the support of the Department for Education.

The UK government is preparing for every eventuality and is considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU, the UK will continue to participate fully in the current (2014-20) Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programmes. This means that the projects successfully bid for during the current programmes will continue to receive EU funding for the full duration of the project, including those where funding runs beyond 2020 and the end of the transition period. We expect Higher Education mobilities being bid for in 2020 will include some mobilities for academic year 2020-21 and academic year 2021-22, depending on the specific details of individual projects.

The shape and content of EU Programmes post-2020, including Erasmus+, are currently being negotiated within the EU institutions and have not yet been finalised. These EU programmes must be adopted by the EU before any potential formal negotiations on association could begin. The UK is ready to consider participation in certain EU programmes, once the EU has agreed the baseline in its 2021-27 Multiannual Financial Framework, and taking into account the overall value to the UK of doing so.

The Department for Education is the national authority for the Erasmus+ programme in the UK. The Department oversees the work of the UK National Agency, which is responsible for the management and delivery of the programme across the UK. The UK National Agency have been issuing guidance to UK universities with the support of the Department for Education.

The UK government is preparing for every eventuality and is considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.

The Department for Education does not collect data in relation to the national minimum allowance (NMA).

The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services are clear that every foster parent should receive an allowance that covers the full cost of caring for a child. Whilst local authorities determine the allowance paid to foster parents in their area, the NMA serves as a baseline to the minimum amount that foster parents can expect to receive per week to cover the cost of a child living in their home. Whilst it is not mandatory in regulations, we expect all fostering services to pay at least this amount.

We are continuing to work with fostering services and others in the sector to ensure that the support offered to foster parents meets their needs.

Funding to increase the pupil premium in line with inflation in 2020-21 is included in the £2.6 billion increase announced in the 2019 Spending Round.

The cost of designing the webpage entitled, ‘View national funding formula allocations for your school: 2020 to 2021’, was £112,125.

No specific resource or cost was dedicated to the promotion of the new National Funding Formula website, which formed part of wider communications work that the Department carries out on an ongoing basis.

5.5 full time equivalent digital staff were involved in the design of the 'View national funding formula for schools webpage', with support from a policy official.

No specific resource or cost was dedicated to the promotion of the new National Funding Formula website, which formed part of wider communications work that the Department carries out on an ongoing basis.

​Philip Augar and his independent panel have made thoughtful recommendations on tuition fee levels and loan repayment, the balance of funding between universities, further education, apprenticeships and adult education, and we will consider all these recommendations carefully.

We are considering the report carefully but have not yet taken decisions with regard to the recommendations put forward.

As my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation announced on 20 January at education oral questions, the Government will conclude the review alongside the next Spending Review, providing the sector with clarity about the future of post-18 education and funding.

We want to ensure we have an education system that is accessible to all and encourages the development of the skills we need as a country.

Ministers and officials do not attend trilogues as these are held between the Presidency, the Commission and the representatives from the European Parliament’s CULT committee.

As stated in my answer of 21 January 2020 to Questions 4479, 4480 and 4481, the proposed regulations for the next 2021-27 Erasmus+ programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised.

The government highly values international exchange and cooperation in education and training and, as noted in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participation in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship.

Ministers and officials do not attend trilogues as these are held between the Presidency, the Commission and the representatives from the European Parliament’s CULT committee.

As stated in my answer of 21 January 2020 to Questions 4479, 4480 and 4481, the proposed regulations for the next 2021-27 Erasmus+ programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised.

The government highly values international exchange and cooperation in education and training and, as noted in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participation in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship.

The recent use of the Learning Records Service by a data broker was unauthorised and not sanctioned by the department. There was no data released about individual learners, only a confirmation or denial that a record existed.

The department is conducting thorough and urgent investigations into this which will conclude shortly.

In addition to internal investigations, the department is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office to provide information on the events around this unsanctioned and unauthorised use of the Learning Records Service data by a third party.

The recent use of the Learning Records Service by a data broker was unauthorised and not sanctioned by the department. There was no data released about individual learners, only a confirmation or denial that a record existed.

The department is conducting thorough and urgent investigations into this which will conclude shortly.

In addition to internal investigations, the department is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office to provide information on the events around this unsanctioned and unauthorised use of the Learning Records Service data by a third party.

As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.

The proposed regulations for the next 2021-27 Erasmus+ programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship. We do not yet know the specifics of the next programme and therefore it is not appropriate to talk in terms of any preferred option. We will of course assess the value for money of ongoing Erasmus+ participation in light of the finalised programme design.

The UK government wants to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems. We are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.

As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.

The proposed regulations for the next 2021-27 Erasmus+ programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship. We do not yet know the specifics of the next programme and therefore it is not appropriate to talk in terms of any preferred option. We will of course assess the value for money of ongoing Erasmus+ participation in light of the finalised programme design.

The UK government wants to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems. We are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.

Over recent years, demand for the Care to Learn scheme has fallen. The most significant reason for this fall in demand is the reduction in teenage pregnancy rates, which are now at an all-time low. There has also been a reduction in the number of young people in the population. The Government continues to make Care to Learn available to young parents in qualifying education, where they are aged under 20 at the start of their course and meet the scheme requirements.

When developing the Care to Learn application and payment systems, the Government must ensure that public funding is used appropriately. In developing the systems, the Government reviewed the data required to establish student eligibility and to pay childcare providers and designed the system to request only the minimum information to carry out these checks. The Government plans to keep the service under review and to ensure the process of claiming Care to Learn is as simple as possible.

Over recent years, demand for the Care to Learn scheme has fallen. The most significant reason for this fall in demand is the reduction in teenage pregnancy rates, which are now at an all-time low. There has also been a reduction in the number of young people in the population. The Government continues to make Care to Learn available to young parents in qualifying education, where they are aged under 20 at the start of their course and meet the scheme requirements.

When developing the Care to Learn application and payment systems, the Government must ensure that public funding is used appropriately. In developing the systems, the Government reviewed the data required to establish student eligibility and to pay childcare providers and designed the system to request only the minimum information to carry out these checks. The Government plans to keep the service under review and to ensure the process of claiming Care to Learn is as simple as possible.

As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.

The proposed regulations for the next 2021-27 Erasmus+ programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship. We do not yet know the specifics of the next programme and therefore it is not appropriate to talk in terms of any preferred option. We will of course assess the value for money of ongoing Erasmus+ participation in light of the finalised programme design.

The UK government wants to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems. We are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss the Department for Education's agenda. This includes relevant topics covered by the new subjects of Relationships Education (for primary age pupils), Relationships and Sex Education (for secondary age pupils) and Health Education (for all pupils in state-funded schools). The Department is working with Public Health England (PHE), through the RSHE Working Group, to promote join-up on these issues locally.

PHE have regional leads who work with local sexual health services and schools and they provide support to schools with aspects of curriculum delivery; for example with resources covering a range of health issues including sexually transmitted diseases.

In addition, the Department is working with local authorities to understand the breadth of support available for all schools, and what further support local authorities need to ensure strategic co-ordination of school improvement and health priorities.

Our ambition is to level up the skills of the entire nation and ensure that post-16 education providers are in a great shape to deliver this. We are considering how best to achieve this ambition and we will announce details of future capital funding in due course. This will build on the significant uplift in recurrent funding for 16-19 education which we are putting in place for the 2020/21 academic year.

The Department for Education (DfE) has a joint and ambitious programme of work with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England, and Health Education England to improve children and young people’s mental health provision in and around schools and colleges. This is being achieved by delivering the proposals set out in the green paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper.

These proposals include implementing new Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in 20-25% of the country by 2023. The MHSTs will support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health issues and help children and young people with more severe needs to access the right support, and provide a link to specialist NHS services. The DfE is also funding the national roll-out of the Link Programme, from October 2019 to 2023, to improve partnership working between schools and colleges and NHS children and young people’s mental health services.

The DfE has not assessed the policy implications of the Education Policy Institute’s report. The responsibility for mental health provision as considered by the report, including increasing the accountability of mental health providers in England and reducing waiting times for their services, is the responsibility of the DHSC.

We are investing an extra £400 million in 16 to 19 education next year to ensure we are building on the skills that our country needs. We will increase the base rate of funding by 4.7%, from £4,000 to £4,188 for the academic year 2020/21. Over and above the base rate rise, this extra spending also includes new resources for high value and high cost courses and funding to support those on level 3 programmes to continue to study English and maths where needed. This is the biggest injection of new money into 16 to 19 education in a single year since 2010 - with funding increasing faster for 16 to 19 than in 5 to 16 schooling – and will mean a significant increase in the average level of funding per student. We will of course continue to look at the needs of 16 to 19 education in future Spending Reviews.

Maintenance costs are not required or provided for sixth form students in the same way as they are required, for example, for students in higher education, because most 16 to 19 year olds live at home. However, financial support is available for disadvantaged students through discretionary bursaries to help with costs such as travel. In addition, bursaries of up to £1,200 a year are available for students in defined vulnerable groups (mainly those living independently or without family financial support), and free meals are also available for disadvantaged students.

We are changing how we allocate the 16 to 19 discretionary bursary fund from the academic year 2020/2021. We will be using up-to-date patterns of disadvantage, and the expected level of support required for travel and industry placement costs, as the basis for funding. This will create institution level allocations that are better matched to student need across the country. There is also financial support available for young parents’ childcare costs and for essential accommodation for financially disadvantaged students where they need to live away from home to participate in a study programme or to attend one of the designated institutions delivering specialist provision.

This funding and financial support has contributed to the current record high proportion of 16 and 17 year olds who are participating in education or apprenticeships since consistent records began.

On 10 January, the Department launched a consultation on removing the exemption from routine inspection that applies to schools judged outstanding by Ofsted. Subject to the outcome of this consultation, the Department will seek Parliamentary approval to lift the exemption. This will require secondary legislation, which needs to be approved by Parliament through the affirmative process. Regulations are required to revoke the Education (Exemption from School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1293) and changes will also need to be made to the Education (School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/2038).

The Office for Students (OfS) was established through the Higher Education and Research Act (2017), which gave it operational independence in the regulation of the higher education sector. This extends to the holding and sharing of different types of data. In December 2018 the OfS published its data strategy, setting out:

“Where we share data with third parties in support of our regulatory activities, we will only do so where we can be sure that the rights and privacy of individuals are assured. We will ensure that those that process students’ data on our behalf operate to the same high standards. Our uses of data should never go beyond those that students might expect from a responsible regulator acting in their interests.”

Further to this, the OfS Data Protection and Privacy Policy sets out how it complies with data protection legislation. This is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/ofs-privacy.

The Office for Students (OfS) was established through the Higher Education and Research Act (2017), which gave it operational independence in the regulation of the higher education sector. This extends to the holding and sharing of different types of data. In December 2018 the OfS published its data strategy, setting out:

“Where we share data with third parties in support of our regulatory activities, we will only do so where we can be sure that the rights and privacy of individuals are assured. We will ensure that those that process students’ data on our behalf operate to the same high standards. Our uses of data should never go beyond those that students might expect from a responsible regulator acting in their interests.”

Further to this, the OfS Data Protection and Privacy Policy sets out how it complies with data protection legislation. This is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/ofs-privacy.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement Erasmus participation is protected for the transition period. Students, young people and learners will be able to participate fully and for the duration of their exchange in the remainder of the current programme and organisations can continue to bid for Erasmus+ funding to the end of 2020. Organisations should continue to apply for funding as usual.

As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.

The UK government is preparing for every eventuality and are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.

As my right Hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has made clear, the government wants to work to continue to build academic cooperation between the UK and the EU. As we enter negotiations on our future relationship with the EU, we want to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems.

The government highly values international exchange and cooperation in education and training and recognises the benefits that such cooperation brings. As we prepare to leave the EU, the department has engaged widely with stakeholder groups across the UK, which we will continue to do. In particular, we have received representations from sector bodies such as Universities UK, the Association of Colleges, the Russell Group, MillionPlus and the National Union of Students.

As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has made clear, the government wants to work to continue to build academic cooperation between the UK and the EU. As we enter negotiations on our future relationship with the EU, we want to ensure that UK students and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems. The UK government is preparing for every eventuality and are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives. We remain open to participation in Erasmus and this will be part of future negotiations with the EU.

The Government is currently investing £2.6 billion across the country to deliver more than 1,000 flood defence projects to better protect 300,000 homes by 2021. Since 2015, £24 million has been spent in Oxfordshire to reduce the risk of flooding. The Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme is fully funded, and construction is due to begin after the replacement of the A423 Kennington Railway Bridge.

We are spending £5.62 million in Oxfordshire this year of which £2.3 million is on the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme which, when completed, will protect 1,200 homes. The rest of the money spent this year is towards other schemes, including looking at the early feasibility for schemes that could provide protection in the future if viable

In Abingdon, the previously proposed flood storage area to reduce flood risk is not being progressed due to the low number of properties that will have their flood risk reduced. Other options are currently being considered for the town.

Government funding is governed by the rules of the Partnership Funding Policy and the formula for allocating the Government’s contribution is weighted towards protecting people’s lives and homes.

The Environment Agency will continue to work with Oxfordshire County Council on solutions for flooding across the county.

National Park Authority members are selected by constituent local authorities or parish councils or are appointed by the Secretary of State following open competition.

The independent review of Designated Landscapes led by Julian Glover, published in 2019, proposed reforms to the governance of National Parks. The proposed reforms do not include direct elections to National Park Authorities. The Government is carefully considering the Glover proposals and will respond in due course.

The Department has flown 1,203,364 miles in the last six months (based on the date flights were invoiced).

The table below shows the number of miles by calendar year since 2015 (based on the date the flights were invoiced).

We fully support the growth of offshore wind and recognise the essential role it plays in meeting the net zero target. Defra has a significant interest in offshore wind development in terms of its potential to contribute to meeting the Government’s climate change commitments, and we also have a critical role in ensuring the protection of our marine environment, particularly across our network of designated Marine Protected Areas.

We are working with other Government bodies, the Crown Estate, industry and wider stakeholders to mitigate against, and prepare for, any environmental impacts of growth in the offshore wind sector. This programme of measures will enable the responsible and sustainable growth of offshore wind.

The Export Hub is a mobile outreach platform that hosts workshops and advice sessions so that businesses across the UK can access Department for International Trade export services on their doorstep. It is available for use by Members of Parliament to help boost exports in their constituencies.

The spend on the Export hub is as follows:

• In this financial year to date: £1,195,253.34
• Over the last six months (August 2019 to January 2020): £1,009,189.32
• This calendar year to date: £100,799.19

We are not able to break these costs down by operation, maintenance and promotion.

The table below shows the number of fatalities and all casualties in reported road accidents on the A34 in Oxfordshire in 2018.

Number of fatalities and all casualties in reported road accidents on the A34 in Oxfordshire in 2018:

1. All casualties include fatalities Source: DfT STATS19

Data for 2019 will be published on September 30 2020.

As part of improving the sustainable performance of our estate, the Department is looking at the feasibility of introducing further renewables to support the decarbonisation process. All options for the introduction of renewables will be explored particularly where they can act as a replacement for systems/functions which currently rely on a fossil fuel source. The additional renewables will form part of our next estates operational sustainability strategy which is being developed to align with the latest Greening Government Commitments framework of targets and also the development of a trajectory towards Net Zero.

The requested information is as follows:

On 8 August, the Department for Transport announced a further funding package for bus operators with rolling funding at up to £27.3 million per week until a time when the funding is no longer needed. Also on 8 August the Department for Education announced a new £40 million funding package for local authorities to support home to school transport. This funding can be used for a variety of transport types/providers as appropriate, including coaches, bus vehicles, community transport vehicles, taxis and private hire vehicles, and SEND (Special Educational Needs Disability) transport.

In addition, the Department for Transport has provided support and grants totalling £7.25 million to local authorities to develop a Travel Demand Management Plan to understand school and work travel patterns and ensure there is safe and sufficient transport for schools.

While the Government will do what we can to support local authorities, solutions must be locally led, with local authorities working closely with transport operators and schools/colleges to identify local area needs and decide the best way to increase capacity, while ensuring value for money of this new funding.

The Department maintains regular contact with transport operators on a range of issues affecting the network, including capacity and messaging during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The rail industry supported by government is taking a variety of approaches to keep passengers informed about what’s happening across the rail network. National Rail Enquiries (NRE) is making a range of real time updates available across its platforms based on operational train data provided by the train operators and industry systems. Additionally, the NRE Alert Me service as announced by the Secretary of State at a No10 press conference on May 23^rd helps passengers to stagger their journeys and avoid busy hotspots on the rail network, allowing passengers to travel safely and maintain social distancing.

To manage the expected increased demand for public transport, the Department is seeking to provide travel demand management support to local authorities in England outside London. However, it is clear that solutions must be locally led between transport authorities and operators.

The Zipabout Passenger Connect service is freely available through the National Rail Enquiries (NRE) Alert Me service for anyone to sign up to via the website link (here: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/208333.aspx). The Department is working with NRE on increasing the visibility and promotion of the messaging service on the website and app.

Work is underway currently to consider how we can roll out similar services to users of other public transport.

Government funding for the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) includes ringfenced and non-ringfenced funds. On the 7^th February 2020 the Department published the first CWIS report to parliament which provides details of the funding that has been made available to all local authorities for cycling and walking under various funding streams.

In 2018/19 the Oxford to Cambridge Arc local authorities received a total of approximately £2 million of ringfenced funding from the Access Fund, Bikeability and the Cycle Safety Fund. Bedford, Peterborough and Northamptonshire also received support to develop Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPS). Cycling and walking funding figures for 2019/20 are not yet available. In the current financial year, the Government is also providing £225 million of funding to combined authorities and local transport authorities under the Emergency Active Travel Fund: details of allocations to all authorities are available via gov.uk.

Contributory factors assigned by police officers do not assign blame for the accident to any specific road user, however they do provide some insight into why and how road accidents occur. They give an indication of which factors the attending officer thought contributed to the accident. Officers do not need to carry out a full investigation of the incident before allocating contributory factors; they usually use professional judgement about what they can see at the scene. Not all accidents are included in the contributory factor data; only accidents where the police attended the scene and reported at least one contributory factor are included.

The number of pedal cyclists killed in road accidents where a contributory factor of ‘Poor or defective road surface’ was reported, in Great Britain, between the years 2009 and 2018 can be found in the below table:

Poor or defective road surface

Includes any obvious road surface defect such as potholes and cracks. Also includes roads where a worn surface or poor skid resistance is thought to have contributed to the accident.

Number of grant payments of the Plug-in Car Grant in each financial year since the inception of the scheme in in 2010, and the amount of funding from the public purse which has been disbursed under the Plug-in car Grant Scheme in each financial year since the inception of that scheme are shown in the table below.

*The number of individual grant payments and the amount of grant paid from 2019/20 and 2020/21 do not correlate well because there is a delay of up to 9 months between an order being placed on the Plug in Car Grant portal and the vehicle being delivered to the customer, at which point payment is made. Therefore, the number of grant payments (46,561) in 2019/20 will rise as orders for cars which were placed on the portal in FY19/20 are delivered to the customer. Total orders placed in 2019/20, including the 46561 for which payment has been made, were 98508.

Number of grant payments of the Plug-in Car Grant in each financial year since the inception of the scheme in in 2010, and the amount of funding from the public purse which has been disbursed under the Plug-in car Grant Scheme in each financial year since the inception of that scheme are shown in the table below.

*The number of individual grant payments and the amount of grant paid from 2019/20 and 2020/21 do not correlate well because there is a delay of up to 9 months between an order being placed on the Plug in Car Grant portal and the vehicle being delivered to the customer, at which point payment is made. Therefore, the number of grant payments (46,561) in 2019/20 will rise as orders for cars which were placed on the portal in FY19/20 are delivered to the customer. Total orders placed in 2019/20, including the 46561 for which payment has been made, were 98508.

The slides at the daily Downing Street press conferences are kept under constant review.

The Department is continually gathering evidence from a variety sources in order to monitor changes in cycling levels.

The Lodge Hill interchange is being progressed and developed by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC). Highways England is working closely with OCC on the design and modelling of this interchange. The assessment of the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on the completion date for this project would be for OCC to comment on as scheme promoter.

The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the viability of businesses in the transport and logistics sector. That is why the Government has announced an unprecedented package of financial measures to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic, worth £350 billion.

Bespoke interventions have been used to protect critical services across many forms of transport, including lifeline services for remote locations. Any such intervention to support specific businesses must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

The Department continues to collect, receive and assess data about the transport and logistics industry. This includes in respect of the level of transport and logistics operations and labour availability. The effects of the pandemic have been substantial and varied across the industry.

The Department for Transport is aware of concerns raised by the industry over potential delays to the renewal of taxi and private hire vehicle licences and will be looking at this further.

Those that are self-employed or earning below the Lower Earnings Limit of £118 per week and have COVID-19 or are advised to self-isolate can now more easily make a claim for Universal Credit or new style Employment and Support Allowance. There is also a monthly advance available.

Those self-employed or who own a business and are concerned about not being able to pay tax bills because of COVID-19, they may be eligible for support through HMRC’s Time to Pay service.

For small companies who are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief who could provide relief; funding for the scheme will be provided to local authorities by government in early April.

The Department for Transport is aware of concerns raised by the industry over potential delays to the renewal of taxi and private hire vehicle licences and will be looking at this further.

Those that are self-employed or earning below the Lower Earnings Limit of £118 per week and have COVID-19 or are advised to self-isolate can now more easily make a claim for Universal Credit or new style Employment and Support Allowance. There is also a monthly advance available.

Those self-employed or who own a business and are concerned about not being able to pay tax bills because of COVID-19, they may be eligible for support through HMRC’s Time to Pay service.

For small companies who are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief who could provide relief; funding for the scheme will be provided to local authorities by government in early April.

The A39 Camelford bypass scheme proposal has been submitted for consideration under the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme.

Officials are working with the Local Authority to support them as they develop the scheme. A decision regarding the scheme’s further development is due shortly.

The franchise agreement allows train operators to participate at their discretion in a wide range of schemes of benefit to passengers without seeking Secretary of State consent, but does not mandate non-national schemes.

We are committed to taking decisive action on the recommendation of the Williams Rail Review this year. Fare transformation is already underway in the form of a single-leg fares trial on LNER and the announcement of flexible season ticket trial for passengers travelling on certain routes with GTR, due to launch later this year. We have also established a new ‘fares trials fund’, to kick start further trials this year across the country. These will save thousands of passengers money, and provide the foundations for reform of the whole fares system.

The franchise agreement allows train operators to participate at their discretion in a wide range of schemes of benefit to passengers without seeking Secretary of State consent, but does not mandate non-national schemes.

We are committed to taking decisive action on the recommendation of the Williams Rail Review this year. Fare transformation is already underway in the form of a single-leg fares trial on LNER and the announcement of flexible season ticket trial for passengers travelling on certain routes with GTR, due to launch later this year. We have also established a new ‘fares trials fund’, to kick start further trials this year across the country. These will save thousands of passengers money, and provide the foundations for reform of the whole fares system.

The franchise agreement allows train operators to participate at their discretion in a wide range of schemes of benefit to passengers without seeking Secretary of State consent, but does not mandate non-national schemes.

We are committed to taking decisive action on the recommendation of the Williams Rail Review this year. Fare transformation is already underway in the form of a single-leg fares trial on LNER and the announcement of flexible season ticket trial for passengers travelling on certain routes with GTR, due to launch later this year. We have also established a new ‘fares trials fund’, to kick start further trials this year across the country. These will save thousands of passengers money, and provide the foundations for reform of the whole fares system.

The franchise agreement allows train operators to participate at their discretion in a wide range of schemes of benefit to passengers without seeking Secretary of State consent, but does not mandate non-national schemes.

We are committed to taking decisive action on the recommendation of the Williams Rail Review this year. Fare transformation is already underway in the form of a single-leg fares trial on LNER and the announcement of flexible season ticket trial for passengers travelling on certain routes with GTR, due to launch later this year. We have also established a new ‘fares trials fund’, to kick start further trials this year across the country. These will save thousands of passengers money, and provide the foundations for reform of the whole fares system.

In developing a business case for the expressway, appropriate account has been taken of the housing growth that is already being planned in the area and both the Department and Highways England have engaged with local authorities across the Oxford-Cambridge Arc including about their local plans. We will provide an update on whether the project should continue in due course.

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 7 January 2020 to Question UIN 217.

Officials have been asked to facilitate discussions between Oxfordshire County Council and Highways England as they look at opportunities to help bring forward the current schedule for completion of the scheme.

We will provide an update on whether the project should continue in due course.

The A34 Lodge Hill junction upgrade is being progressed and developed by Oxfordshire County Council as the scheme promotor. I understand Highways England are working closely with the County to help develop the design and modelling for the upgrade. I believe the County are currently aiming to begin construction of the scheme in early 2021, subject to approval from Highways England, with completion in early 2022.

The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway project has no effect on Oxford County Council’s delivery of the Lodge Hill diamond interchange upgrade.

We will provide an update on whether the project should continue in due course.

We will provide an update on whether the project should continue in due course.

We will provide an update on whether the project should continue in due course.

Ministers engage closely with food bank providers and I meet regularly with the Trussell Trust. The Secretary of State and I held an independent foodbank provider roundtable meeting on 12 February.

Ministers in the Department also visit food banks on a regular basis. The most recent official visit was made by Baroness Stedman Scott on 30 January. The Department has been respecting Governmental guidelines around non-essential travel but is maintaining close contact with its stakeholders until normal visits and roundtables can be resumed. This includes those in the food bank sector.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department for Work and Pensions does not have any plans to undertake a pilot of universal basic income (UBI).

Experts keep the symptoms under review as our understanding of the virus develops. We are assessing the data from the COVID Symptom Study, in addition to other surveillance studies and will update our guidance if necessary.

NHS England offers those patients who have been referred to the ‘Your COVID Recovery’ online recovery programme a range of validated outcome scales for tracking their symptoms. NHS England is currently adapting these tools for open access and will make them available to anyone who visits the ‘Your COVID Recovery’ site.

No novel foods have been approved for the United Kingdom market since departure from the European Union. The Food Standards Agency has had frequent discussions with the insect industry to help potential applicants understand and prepare for the authorisation process.

Officials are currently exploring which existing apps allow patients to track ‘long’ COVID-19 symptoms and how the existing digital resources on ‘Your COVID Recovery’ may be improved.

Any such assessment of the reintroduction of car parking charges will be made once the pandemic abates. The Government has also committed that staff working night shifts will no longer have to pay for car parking from April 2021.

Any such assessment of the reintroduction of car parking charges will be made once the pandemic abates. The Government has also committed that staff working night shifts will no longer have to pay for car parking from April 2021.

Any such assessment of the reintroduction of car parking charges will be made once the pandemic abates. The Government has also committed that staff working night shifts will no longer have to pay for car parking from April 2021.

Our priority is ensuring that councils have the resources to manage the immediate and long-term impacts of the pandemic.

In 2020-21, Oxfordshire County Council received £16.5 million specifically for adult social care, to support its COVID-19 response.

This year, alongside the ability to raise funding through the precept, it will receive £12.6 million through the Social Care Grant and £4.1 million through the Infection Control and Testing Fund.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

There are existing plans in progress to implement genome sequencing capabilities within existing public health laboratories that will enable rapid sequencing and analysis of COVID-19 samples and to create a rapid integrated test and sequencing system within existing Departmental facilities to provide rapid test, sequencing and analysis of COVID-19 pillar 2 samples. These new operations will launch in phases between May and September 2021. In parallel, existing sequencing capacity is being expanded to maintain the highest levels of national surveillance of COVID-19.

NHSX commissioned work to explore a patient-facing self-monitoring ‘long’ COVID-19 solution at a cost of £205,000.

The vast majority of care workers, including agency workers, are employed by private organisations who set their pay. Both the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage apply across social care and we expect local authorities to work with providers to determine a fair rate of pay.

This information is not collected centrally.

My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care visited University College London Hospital’s post-COVID-19 clinic service on 21 October 2020.

Hospital car parks are free for National Health Service staff for this pandemic and this remains the Government’s position.

From its introduction in March 2020 and until October 2020, any loss of income was covered by the COVID-19 reimbursement provided to trusts. Since October 2020, funding for the delivery of free staff parking has been included as part of trusts’ overall system allocation.

We do not publish data in format requested.

To date the Department has issued at least 32.5 million lateral flow device test kits to secondary schools and colleges and at least 15.6 million kits to primary schools and nurseries.

Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West Integrated Care System is working in partnership with the district council, who are responsible for flood mitigation plans. In instances where constituents have been displaced due to flooding, temporary registration with a local general practitioner can be arranged.

The Oxford Vaccine Delivery Group has confirmed that all eligible patients from priority groups one to nine have been contacted to be offered a vaccination.

We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hon. Member’s question will be answered as soon as possible.

Due to COVID-19 outbreak and the need to release capacity across the National Health Service to support the response, NHS England paused the collection and publication of some of their official statistics. This includes data on cancelled elective operations, and this dataset will remain paused during Quarter 4 of 2020/21.

NHS England will keep the list and dates of paused publications under review ahead of Quarter 1 of 2021/22 to establish if collections should be reinstated or paused.

The Government’s priority is to ensure that patients continue to have access to the medicines they need, including fluids for peritoneal dialysis and other medicines critical to kidney transplant patients. The Department continues to work closely with the pharmaceutical industry, the devolved administrations, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to deliver the shared goal of continuity of safe patient care by mitigating any potential disruption to the supply of medicines into the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period.

As set out in a letter the Department sent to the pharmaceutical industry on 17 November 2020, the Department is implementing a multi-layered approach, that involves asking suppliers of medicines and medical products to the UK from or via the European Union to get themselves ‘trader ready’, reroute their supply chains away from any potential disruption and stockpile to a target level of six weeks on UK soil where this is possible. The letter is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-medicines-and-medical-products-suppliers-17-november-2020

NHS Test and Trace does not hold data in the format requested.

Rapid lateral flow device testing is available for staff in secondary schools, colleges, primary, school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.

There is no application process for local authorities to ask the ‘Gold’ or ‘Silver’ committees to change their tier their area is in.

There is no application process for local authorities to ask the ‘Gold’ or ‘Silver’ committees to change their tier their area is in.

Since 23 November 2020, domiciliary care organisations have been able to access regular weekly COVID-19 testing for their staff. Those working for Care Quality Commission registered organisations are able to access weekly polymerase chain reaction tests to undertake at home, which will help to identify more asymptomatic cases and protect people receiving care and support.

From 8 March, every care home resident will be able to nominate a single named visitor who will be able to enter the care home for regular visits. These visitors should be tested using the supplied rapid lateral flow tests at every visit. Those residents with the highest care needs can nominate an ‘essential care giver’ who will be supported to follow the same testing arrangements and personal protective equipment and infection control arrangements as care home staff. Visits in exceptional circumstances including end of life should always be supported and enabled.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise Government on prioritisation at a population level. Based on scientific analysis and modelling data, the JCVI will advise on which cohorts of the United Kingdom’s population will be eligible for vaccination, should a safe and effective vaccine be found. This will depend on factors such as the properties of the vaccine, those most at need (including frontline health and social care workers) and the unique medical circumstances of individuals.

The committee’s interim advice is that the vaccine should first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk. Further work is being undertaken to understand more about the groups most at risk of serious disease and death from COVID-19 infection. Any advice will need to be modified depending on the characteristics of the vaccines, when these become available.

We will consider the Committee’s advice carefully as we continue to plan for a vaccination campaign.

We have always known that some people's phones would not be able to support the app. This is the same in all countries with apps using the Google and Apple exposure notification API for contact tracing. However, the app works on the vast majority of handsets – approximately nine out of 10 in the United Kingdom and this proportion will increase as people upgrade their handsets. We recognise that not everyone has a smartphone or is in a position to upgrade they handset. The NHS COVID-19 app is only one part of the wider NHS Test and Trace system and for those who cannot use the app, advice is available via NHS 119 and the phone-based contact tracing system.

The Department invests £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Together with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the NIHR has invested £8.4 million in the Post-HOSPitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID), investigating the long-term health impacts of coronavirus on hospitalised patients. To ensure the best use of National Health Service resources for clinical research during the acute phase of the pandemic, the NIHR established a process to prioritise COVID-19 research as Urgent Public Health Research. The NIHR Clinical Research Network is supporting prioritised studies by fast tracking their local set-up, management and delivery. PHOSP-COVID was prioritised through this process on 1 July 2020.

On 31 July, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care convened a roundtable meeting with researchers and clinicians to establish what more can be done to understand and mitigate the long-term health effects of COVID-19. The Department recognises the need for further research into the longer-term effects of the virus in those who did not require hospitalisation and is currently considering options for future work in this area.

I replied to the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s letter on 28 January 2021.

The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, are working with trade bodies, suppliers, and the health and care system to make detailed plans to help ensure continued supply of medicines and medical products to the whole of the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period.

As set out in a letter from the Department to industry of 3 August, we are implementing a multi-layered approach, that involves asking suppliers to get trader ready, reroute their supply chains away from any potential disruption and stockpiling to a target level of six weeks on UK soil where this is possible. The letter is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-medicines-and-medical-products-suppliers-3-august-2020/letter-to-medicine-suppliers-3-august-2020

The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, is working with trade bodies, product suppliers, and the health and care system in England to make detailed plans to help ensure continued supply of medicines and medical products, including medical radioisotopes and over-the-counter medicines, to the whole of the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period in all scenarios.

The Department understands that a flexible approach to preparedness may be required for medicines that cannot be stockpiled, such as some medical radioisotopes. We have asked suppliers of those products to use airfreight, which some suppliers are already doing now.

Further detail on the plans to help ensure continuity of medical supplies has been communicated to suppliers, and can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-medicines-and-medical-products-suppliers-3-august-2020/letter-to-medicine-suppliers-3-august-2020

The Border and Protocol Delivery Group’s (BPDG) recently published Border Operating Model sets out the processes for importing and exporting goods, including additional requirements that will be needed for importing and exporting certain medical products, such as medicines that are controlled goods. The Department is working closely with BPDG and HM Revenue and Customs to ensure trader readiness to comply with the Border Operating Model.

To further support the flow of critical goods, medicines and medical products have been designated category 1 status, and we have put in place additional contingencies through our multi-layered approach to help ensure the supply of medicines and medical products at the end of the Transition Period.

The Department, in consultation with the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies, is working with trade bodies, product suppliers, and the health and care system in England to make detailed plans to help ensure continued supply of medicines and medical products, including medical radioisotopes and over-the-counter medicines, to the whole of the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period in all scenarios.

The Department understands that a flexible approach to preparedness may be required for medicines that cannot be stockpiled, such as some medical radioisotopes. We have asked suppliers of those products to use airfreight, which some suppliers are already doing now.

Further detail on the plans to help ensure continuity of medical supplies has been communicated to suppliers, and can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-medicines-and-medical-products-suppliers-3-august-2020/letter-to-medicine-suppliers-3-august-2020

The Government does not have direct responsibility for pay awards in adult social care in the same way as for other areas of the public sector. Adult social care providers continue to set the rate of pay for their workers.

The Government nonetheless maintains oversight of the social care system and we are committed to raising the profile of the social care sector. Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges that we face as a society. There are complex questions to address, to which we want to give our full considerations in light of the current circumstances.

The Department has no current plans to install solar panels or wind turbines on its buildings in the next five years.

As of 16 July, NHS Digital data shows that 156,743 haematological cancer patients are currently shielding due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NHS Digital does not report the haematological cancers numbers by age group.

This data is not centrally held.

Mental health services have remained open for business throughout lockdown, and NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked mental health trusts to ensure they have 24 hours a day, seven days a week open access telephone lines in place for urgent National Health Service mental health support, advice and triage for all ages, including all children and young people.

We have also taken steps to ensure that children and young people, and their parents and carers, have the tools and knowledge to protect their mental health. We have published guidance to parents and carers on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and we are promoting this through trusted channels like GOV.UK ad Every Mind Matters.

The Department regularly engages with organisations to assess the effectiveness of, and evidence base for, their proposals.

The NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance (England) Scheme 2020 opened on 20 May 2020. As of 8 July 2020, 51 claim forms have been received, 19 of these have been assessed as eligible and the families notified that the lump sum will be paid once probate is received. The other 32 claim forms are currently being considered and no decision has yet been made. No claim form has yet been found to be ineligible.

No estimate has been made of the costs of successful claims although the upper limit will be the total number of COVID-19 deaths of health and social care staff. Mortality data from the Office for National Statistics shows there were 272 health care deaths and 268 social care deaths involving COVID-19 registered between 9 March and 25 May 2020 (in England, of those aged 20-64 years).

The NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance (England) Scheme 2020 opened on 20 May 2020. As of 8 July 2020, 51 claim forms have been received, 19 of these have been assessed as eligible and the families notified that the lump sum will be paid once probate is received. The other 32 claim forms are currently being considered and no decision has yet been made. No claim form has yet been found to be ineligible.

No estimate has been made of the costs of successful claims although the upper limit will be the total number of COVID-19 deaths of health and social care staff. Mortality data from the Office for National Statistics shows there were 272 health care deaths and 268 social care deaths involving COVID-19 registered between 9 March and 25 May 2020 (in England, of those aged 20-64 years).

The following table shows National Health Service sickness absence statistics in annual full time equivalent (FTE) days lost due to mental health related reasons, by staff groups, in the NHS in England, March to February each year, 2015 to 2020.

The sickness absence rate has been provided to account for the increases in the number of doctors, nurses and other staff.

Mental health related absence includes anxiety/stress/depression, other psychiatric illnesses, psychological, stress and other mental disorders.

Data is not collected centrally on assaults against National Health Service staff in England. In the 2019 NHS Staff Survey, 14.9% of respondents experienced physical violence from patients, service users, their relatives or members of the public in the past year.

Any assault, physical or verbal, against NHS staff is unacceptable and should be reported and dealt with through the proper processes. The NHS has recently joined forces with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service in a Joint Agreement on Offences Against Emergency Workers. This provides a framework to ensure effective investigation and prosecution of cases where staff are the victim of a crime and sets out the standards victims of these crimes can expect.